Empty Space
by Ironhide1706
Summary: Raker, an Autobot explorer, deals with frequent relapses of a traumatizing event from his past as he tries to protect Earth single-handedly from the Star Seekers, a Transformer-hating band of space pirates.
1. Prologue

_The crimson ambience of a nearby red sun poured over the moderately-sized _Starwing_-class cruiser from the planet Cybertron. The bright orange glow of its four rectangular thrusters began to dim until the colour faded to black. The cruiser halted its progress through the blackness of empty space, just in time to dodge an incoming chunk of charred rock. Ahead, there were even more; an endless sea of asteroids drifting peacefully through the void. _

_Inside the _Starwing_, at the rear of the ship, was the spacious cargo bay. Dozens of identical square crates were evenly placed along the brushed steel side walls. A single sliding door built into the rear wall presented access to the rest of the cruiser's interior rooms. On the very centre of the cargo bay's wide metal floor, taking up most of the remaining space, sat a single shuttle. _

_The shuttle was pearl-white, apart from a jet-black belly. It had two thin, triangular wings that spread out from the bottom of the shuttle, as well as a single fin protruding from the top of the rear fuselage. The cockpit was shielded from view by four tinted orange windows. The shuttle had three cylindrical engines positioned at the rear of the rectangular fuselage. _

_Though there was no one inside, a sudden static resonated throughout the shuttle and cargo bay. It lasted for a few seconds before giving way to a powerful, stoic male voice, "Raker, this is Falcon. Do you copy?"_

_"Loud and clear, Falcon," replied another, more cheerful-sounding male voice. It came from inside the shuttle's empty cockpit._

_"We have come across an asteroid field, and seeing as you're the only one of us who can go outside unassisted…we need you to investigate." Falcon explained slowly. He drew the last section out, as if it pained him to say the words. _

_"Hang on; _you're _asking for _my_ help? Will this be going on record?" Raker asked mockingly._

_"No." Falcon said bluntly. "Now, if you would please focus for longer than one millicycle, so I can give you your orders."_

_"I better not be going _through_ the field, Falcon. You know the odds," reminded Raker, though his voice had an unmistakeably defiant tone. _

_"3720 to 1. You will be pleased to know that I am not asking that of you. Instead, you will be landing on a nearby organic moon. The native population will no doubt have an idea of what brought about these asteroids." Falcon continued. "Bring Supersonic along with you too."_

_"Explore a new world and take my best friend along for the ride? Where do I sign?" Raker exclaimed, delighted._

_"Excellent." Falcon answered, pleased. "I will send Supersonic down now. Falcon out."_

_Another momentary burst of static followed Falcon's exit, then everything became completely silent. The slight hum of a spinning component broke the silence first; it was soon joined by the hiss of a moving piston. Then, almost instantaneously, the entire shuttle split into hundreds of separate pieces. The pieces rearranged themselves by sliding, folding, extending and turning, until they began to resemble a humanoid robot. Recognisable pieces of the shuttle were visible all over the robot's body; for example, two of the cockpit windows were visible on each shoulder. The trio of engines remained largely unchanged on the back of the robot. The robot's head was shaped like a ball, with a tinted black visor covering its face. The robot was forced to kneel, for it was too tall to stand in the cargo bay, despite the bay being the largest room in the cruiser._

_As the last pieces of the shuttle locked into place as a robot, the door at the back of the cargo bay slid open quietly. From the other side, another robotic humanoid emerged. The second robot was shorter than the shuttle, so it was able to stand up perfectly straight. It was predominantly black, save for a few blood-red stripes along its chest and shoulders. Its head was tall and narrow, with bright purple optics. The robot's entire body was polished to the point that it reflected the dim white light from the cargo bay's ceiling lamps, almost like a mirror. _

_The second robot approached the shuttle robot and extended its four-fingered right hand. The shuttle took it in its own hand and shook it politely._

_"Good to see you, old friend." The second robot said in a sophisticated male voice, a wide grin on his face. _

_"Right back at you, Supersonic." The shuttle robot replied; it was Raker. "Ready for an adventure?"_

_"Always!" Supersonic agreed, then frantically wiped a piece of dust off of his shoulder. "Wait, will there be…_dirt _on the moon?"_

_"We won't know until we check it out, so let's not waste any more time." Raker said, abruptly serious. "Open the doors and I'll go get set." _

_Supersonic nodded and returned to the door, where the small, square control panel for the cargo bay doors was placed. He pushed a red, circular button that took up a quarter of the control panel. A loud noise filled the cargo bay and the button flashed bright red as the entire rear wall split in half and swung back into the cruiser. _

_Outside, the eternal emptiness of space beckoned to Raker, who had begun to move towards the edge of the cargo bay. Countless stars, like beacons of pure energy, called out to him, inviting him to explore their systems. At that moment, however, the only star that mattered to Raker was the one directly ahead. It was a vast ball of pluming crimson flame, many dozens of times larger than the scattered planets that orbited it. Of particular interest to Raker was a small moon to his left. It stood out like a glowing emerald gem in the depths of a pitch-black cavern. Swirls of white criss-crossed over the moon's green, organic surface. _

_"That has to be one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen." Raker muttered to himself. He crossed his arms and stood motionless for several seconds, silently observing the mystical world that awaited him. When Supersonic joined him, he said, "This is going to be the first time I've ever had the chance to explore uncharted territory, Supersonic."_

_"Your dream." Supersonic remembered. He put his hand on Raker's shoulder, which was quite the feat considering his friend's height. "I'm very glad for you, Raker, you deserve this!"_

_Raker looked down at him, "I couldn't have dreamed of a better partner to share it with. But enough sappy remarks, we have a job to do!" _

_Supersonic laughed and took his hand off Raker. The larger robot took a tentative step off of the safety of the cargo bay floor and out into empty space. The pressurisation inside the cruiser was the same as the surrounding environment, so Raker felt no different as he floated away from the cruiser. He turned around to make sure Supersonic was close behind; to his amusement, he saw that Supersonic was clutching the edge of the cargo bay and sticking his leg out, then pulling it back in, then sticking it back out again, over and over._

_"You don't have to worry about drifting off, Supersonic! We both know you're too fast for that!" Raker called out with a chuckle. _

_"True, but I've never been in a vacuum before! Let us move to the moon, quickly!" Supersonic yelled back warily._

_Raker agreed, so both robots shifted themselves so that they faced the moon. The engines on Raker's back switched on; all of them gleamed a blinding orange as the entire engine assembly swung down to face Raker's feet. He leant forward sharply, doing a full front flip before steadying himself so that the tops of his round shoulders were pointing directly at the moon. Supersonic performed a similar manoeuvre as the soles of his feet slid away to reveal bright purple thrusters._

_As one, Raker and Supersonic activated the full power of their respective propulsion devices. They flew towards the moon, accelerating to incredible speeds. It was not long before they found themselves caught in the moon's gravitational field, which only served to increase their velocity even further. A blanket of puffy white clouds obscured their view of the moon's surface. Raker's entire body looked as if it were on fire as his descent became more and more like free-falling, but despite this, he felt no pain whatsoever. To his right, Supersonic was also turning into a living inferno, but the heat seemed to be affecting him more than it did Raker. _

_Finally, the robots broke the cloud cover. To their great surprise, and pain, they had fallen straight into a dense jungle, with trees that grew to right below the clouds. This meant that Raker and Supersonic had no time to dodge or slow down, so they both tumbled helplessly into the tough trunks and damp leaves of a tight clump of jungle trees. The wood splintered beneath them, offering little cushioning. _

_The impact with the ground was hard, fast and painful for both robots. Their crash landing had cleared a large section of the jungle; fallen trees and mushy undergrowth mixed with the leaves littered the soft, muddy earth. Raker groaned loudly as he stood up and stretched his back joints. Several metres ahead of him was Supersonic, who had already risen from the ground. The other robot was jumping around, swatting the air and himself as if we were covered in insects. Raker rushed over the moment he felt his back components click back into place._

_"It's all over me! No no no no no!" Supersonic cried as he continued to writhe about. "Get it off! GET IT OFF!"_

_"Supersonic, it's okay. The dirt can't hurt you!" Raker promised, barely suppressing a laugh. "Get yourself together, man! We need to figure out where we are!"_

_As Supersonic finally halted his screams and composed himself, a cold voice hissed from the nearby, untouched jungle, "Where ye are? Why, ye only need to ask and such answers can come quickly!"_

_Both Raker and Supersonic jumped considerably. They recovered from the fright, withdrawing their weapons. Supersonic pulled a long, thin assault rifle off of his back; Raker transformed his right forearm into a narrow particle beam. They held their firearms up, scanning the trees with sharp gazes. _

_"Show yourself!" Supersonic demanded fiercely._

_"If ye insist…" replied the reluctant voice. _

_From behind a particularly thick trunk, another robot revealed himself. It was tall, lanky and its faded brown armour was quite tattered. Its shoulders were on an angle from one another, as were its wide, white optics. Round objects resembling wheels were prominent in its ankles and thighs. A strange green symbol, bordered by two cutlasses, stood out on the centre of its chest. The robot's jaw twisted into a toothless grin as it took a rusted sword from a scabbard on its hip. It approached Raker fearlessly, smiling even wider. Raker backed up slightly, disgusted, but kept his arm raised._

_"Oh, ye be hurting my feelings!" The robot said in a hushed tone. It raised an eyebrow and pointed its sword directly at Raker's face. "I just want to talk, is all. Come and have a talk with good ol' Axer, boy. Ye have nothing to fear. Yet."_

_The robot, Axer, kept moving towards Raker, ignoring the laser directed at him. All was quiet except for the crunch of the plants beneath Axer's feet and the wailing squeaks of his knees. A third noise reached Raker's audio sensors, coming from the jungle. It was a dull moan that grew in volume. Something else was on its way._

_"Get back!" Raker commanded, jabbing forward with his arm. _

_Axer eyed it uncomfortably for a moment, then he redirected his attention to the trees behind Raker. Curious, Raker took a peek with his peripheral vision. His optics widened and his jaw dropped as the horrifying sight reached his sensors. _

_From the gaps between the jungle trees, at least a dozen more robots were emerging. They all looked identical: stocky and pale red, with generic features and empty eye-sockets. Each robot held a twisted dagger in one hand and a small pistol in the other. Raker instinctively turned to face the incoming hoard, but in doing so he gave Axer the opening he was looking for. Axer lunged at Raker's head, bringing his free hand onto the other robot's skull. Raker collapsed and fell swiftly into unconsciousness. _


	2. Chapter 1

Raker's optics flickered on, and the vision of his memory faded away. He felt the chill of a cold steel bench pressing against his back, and the momentary blindness from the yellow lamp directly above him. As his optics adjusted, the room around him came into view. It was small, with five more benches identical to the one beneath Raker lined up against the back wall. A lamp hung above each. Thin cupboards and stout crates along the side walls stored a wide variety of medical supplies.

Raker groaned as he sat up and swung his legs over the right edge of the bench. His head hit the lamp on the way up, sending the fixture crashing down onto the floor. It shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces, much to the annoyance of Raker. He brushed it aside with his foot and stood up slowly. The door was directly ahead of him, but it looked far too small to fit him. Raker sighed as he opened the door by the bronze handle and ducked through the frame. He still clipped his shoulders and elbows on the way out, however.

On the other side of the door was a long, narrow hallway with two doors on each side. Raker decided to check the communications centre, as that was where some of his comrades spent most of their time. The ceiling was high, but still not high enough for Raker to stand properly. He shuffled uncomfortably across the concrete floor to the first door on his left. He opened it and stepped inside.

The communications centre was one of Raker's favourite rooms in the base, for it was one of the only ones in which he could stand. It was shaped like a dome, with computer monitors and consoles covering every inch of the walls, save for the doorway. In the very centre was a circular hologram projector. Raker was disappointed to find the room empty, but he figured that it wouldn't hurt to contact the others and find out what's going on. He sat down in front of one of the larger monitors and flicked a small switch on the corresponding console. An image of the head of a blue robot flickered onto the screen, accompanied by a signal bar.

"Optimus, this is Raker, do you copy?" Raker said into the console's microphone.

"I copy, Raker," responded a deep, powerful voice through the computer.

"Where is everybody?" Raker asked.

"Blaster detected Decepticon activity near New York City; we're on our way there now. Red Alert advised that we leave you at base to give you time to recover." Optimus explained. The signal bar rippled as he spoke. "How are you feeling?"

Raker looked cautiously at his left hand. His original had been torn off a week earlier by the Decepticon Demolisher, so Raker's friend and medic Red Alert had constructed a replacement. It looked almost identical, but it had four fingers as opposed to his original's three. The change was taking some getting used to, but the sentiment behind it made the transition easier for Raker.

"Better, thank you. Please tell Red Alert the replacement feels perfect." Raker requested. He moved his fingers in a recurring wave motion as he spoke.

"Sure. Optimus—

"Wait!" Raker suddenly cried. The monitor next to the one he was using had suddenly lit up and made a loud, blaring noise. "Sorry, sir. The computer has picked something up. Give me a moment."

Raker tapped a few buttons on the monitor's console, and the source of the warning was displayed on the screen. It was a map of the solar system. Raker's gaze was drawn to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. On the side closest to Jupiter was a flashing red blip with a data-box pointing to it. The box read: "Unidentified Cybertronian Ship – No known Autobot or Decepticon affiliations".

"Sir," Raker said slowly to the other console, "there is a ship from Cybertron on the edge of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is not making any efforts to communicate, nor does it have an Autobot or Decepticon energy signature. How should I proceed?"

"We can't risk the chance of the ship being a disguised Decepticon vessel, or worse." Optimus answered, then paused for a moment as he spoke to someone on his end. He returned several seconds later, "Red Alert believes that you're fit enough to investigate. Do so quickly, quietly and without drawing their attention. Their position in the asteroids should make this easy. Report your findings back, and no matter what, _do not engage the ship_! Understood?"

"Yes, sir. I will be on my way at once." Raker promised. "Raker out."

Raker switched off both computers and reached the exit in a single stride. He crouched low beneath the door frame, and turned left when he entered the hallway. At the very end of the long corridor was another door, one built to resemble the wall around it. It rose into the ceiling at Raker's approach. He ducked through it and found himself in an aircraft hangar.

Raker did not bother lingering in the hangar; instead, he rushed through it, not bothering to take any notice of anything. All that mattered to him was escaping the confinement of the base. He half-ran, half-fell onto the rugged tarmac that stretched along the hangar and beyond as a runway. The sun was beginning to creep below the horizon, so everything was showered in gold. The sky was cloudless, revealing a massive canvas painted with dozens of shades of orange and pink. The base was built in the middle of the South-West American desert, so the only landmarks as far as the eye could see were the occasional mesas and dunes.

Raker stumbled onto the runway, then straightened up quickly. He placed his hands on his hips and looked proudly at the sun. Though many years had passed since his time on the moon, one thing that hadn't changed was his love of nature. The whole world was beautiful to him, with its boundless possibilities and unique life-forms. Even there, in the middle of nowhere, he still saw the beauty of the place. It was one of the reasons why he had been so keen to come to Earth.

Raker knew he had to keep moving, so before he could get too lost in his surroundings, he shifted his gaze from the horizon to the sky above. He could make out the soft light of thousands of stars, desperately trying to break through the vibrant sunset. Beneath his visor, Raker smiled, and his orange eyes softened. So often he felt like a giant trapped in a miniature world, but in space he was completely free and unlimited in every way. He loved the planets for their beauty, but he _adored _the blackness between them. It was the only place in the universe where he had complete control; the only place where he was truly comfortable.

A sense of desperation to be there began to fill Raker's spark, until he could no longer bear to wait. He rolled his shoulders slowly, then the engines on his back flipped down to face the tarmac. They glowed orange, the very same colour as Raker's eyes, and then less than a second later he was propelled into the air. He shot straight up, like a rocket taking off. His ascent was slow at first, but accelerated gradually until he broke the sound barrier at 25000 feet.

Less than a minute had passed when Raker left the outer atmosphere. As he felt the pressure of Earth's gravity fade away, he turned to look one last time at the Earth before he continued to the asteroid belt. Raker had never seen such a majestic planet before. The sapphire seas and emerald continents melded together perfectly from his height. Clouds swirled around the whole planet, forming obscure shapes and patterns. The sun and moon reflected off of either side of Raker's visor as he hovered for at least a minute, watching, observing. It was one of the most incredible moments in his life; that is, until he spotted the Amazon rainforest. It resembled the moon he had arrived on all those years ago. Raker looked sadly at his new hand, then he closed his eyes, and returned to the past.

_Raker awoke in a wide, cubic room with a single light fixture in the ceiling. Three of the walls were solid titanium, and the last was a shimmering purple energy field. Raker had seen many like it on Cybertron. Touching it resulted in a nasty shock that numbed the limb for hours, so Raker stayed well clear of it as he tried to stand. The ceiling was far too short, however, so Raker was forced to sit against one of the metal walls. Blue statis cuffs bound his wrists together. Statis cuffs usually induced paralysis, but Raker's had been deactivated. _

_A sharp knock from outside the room made Raker jump. He looked up hopefully, only to see one of the pale red robots on the other side of the energy field. The robot was holding an assault rifle in one hand; it used its free one to power down the energy field. It called Raker out. He rose to a crouching position and shuffled through the small gap. Once he was through, the robot shoved the barrel of the rifle into his back. The muzzle was hot; it had been shot recently._

_"Move," was the robot's only word as it led Raker forward._

_Raker was not at all surprised to see that the room had been a cell in a block full of them. There were ten more alongside the one Raker had been in, but they were all unoccupied. Supersonic's whereabouts jumped to the front of Raker's priorities. He took a double glance in every cell as he passed, but to no avail._

_He stopped at the end of the cell block, where a barred door blocked his progress. The red robot nodded at a camera on the ceiling that was angled towards them, and the door slid into the wall with a quiet hiss. Another painful jab in the back later and Raker was walking through the door and into an open-ceilinged area. It was a balcony of sorts, built on top of a blocky steel complex constructed in the middle of the jungle. Raker watched as small creatures flew out of the forest canopy, then dove back in upon seeing the complex._

_"Ah, how good of ye to join us!" yelled the grainy voice of Axer._

_Raker moved his head almost fast enough to break the neck joint. He had been too mesmerised by the creatures to take notice of most of the balcony. It was a rectangular space, with blue energy field fencing around the edges. There were five other robots besides Raker and his escort; Axer and Supersonic among them. Supersonic was flanked by two more red robots, whilst the third waited to join Raker and his fellow. Axer was leaning heavily on his sword, using it as a cane. He grinned widely as Raker was forced closer to him. _

_"I was beginning to think ye'd never wake up!" Axer remarked with a sinister chuckle. "Yer friend an' I were having a lovely chat in your absence, _Raker_!"_

_Raker was not very surprised that Axer knew his name, but he was still taken aback somewhat. _

_"What do you want with us, Decepticon?" Raker asked calmly, holding back the urge to king-hit Axer._

_"Decepticon?!" Axer spat, disgusted. "Those scrap piles are just as useless as you Autobots! Nah, we here are neutrals. Do ye know what that means?"_

_"No." Raker said bluntly._

_"It means we be very intolerant of any Cybertronians taking part in the War. We couldn't give a blasted servo which side they fight for, all we care about is that ye all _destroyed our home_!" Axer explained viciously. "Now, as ye might imagine, that 'as made us _very _unhappy!"_

_"It was Megatron and the Decepticons, you glitch!" Raker snapped, shaking off the robots on either side of him. "The Autobots tried to save Cybertron!" _

_"Take 'im back, boys, I don't want his stench corruptin' my pristine figure!" Axer said angrily as he waved his hand dismissively. "Ye see, we don't really mind too much whose fault in particular it was. All that matters is that we can't go back to the planet where we were born, because of you!"_

_"You're blind, Axer!" Raker roared, barely containing his anger._

_Axer slapped Raker across the visor with edge of his sword, leaving a deep cut, "Enough of yer lies, we have some business to take care of! Supersonic 'ere tells me ye have fellows waitin' up in the skies. Why don't we bring 'em down so we can greet 'em?"_

_Raker stared at Supersonic, his orange optics wide, unblinking and just visible through the cut in his visor. Supersonic looked apologetically back, then leaned on his heels and looked away._

_"Oi! Ye aren't watchin'!" Axer hissed._

_Raker rolled his optics and looked where Axer's gangly finger was pointing. Through a space in the clouds, the _Starwing_ was visible in low-orbit. It wasn't until Axer's low chuckling filled Raker's audio sensors did he realise what was about to transpire._

_"Don't do this!" Raker said urgently. He tried to move towards Axer, but the red robots held him back. "Stop!"_

_Axer said nothing, he simply smiled and continued pointing at the cruiser. Suddenly, a loud noise erupted from nearby in the complex. A large hatch on the roof swung open, revealing six missiles with red tips arranged in a hexagonal shape. Raker and Supersonic wrestled with their respective guards, but it was of no use. White smoke billowed out of the spaces between the missiles._

_Altogether, the six missiles erupted from the roof, spewing yellow flame in their wake. They accelerated almost too fast for Raker to follow, but even if he had, he knew where to look. The missiles were heading straight for the _Starwing_, and it wasn't making any attempts to evade. Raker tried to activate his communications link to warn them, but the neutrals must have removed it during his unconsciousness. All he could do was watch, helpless, as the missiles locked on to the cruiser and flew towards it._

_Raker started to hear Supersonic mutter, "Move…move…," under his breath. The former was thinking the same, but chose not to say it aloud._

_The missiles were within fifty metres of the cruiser and rapidly closing in when Raker finally realised exactly what was going to happen. It looked like it had dawned on Supersonic too, for the other Autobot had begun to shake violently. Raker tapped his fingers nervously on his thigh. Axer's chuckles grew into maniacal cackles. Then the missiles hit their target._

_The entire cruiser exploded in a spectacular, blossoming ball of orange fire. Small chunks fell from the sky like meteors, peppering the jungle. A cloud of black smoke hovered where the _Starwing _had been only a few seconds earlier._

_Supersonic let out an anguished cry and sunk to his knees. The neutrals on either side of him pointed their rifles against his head, but he made no attempt to move. Raker did nothing but watch, frozen in shock and sadness. Axer turned and made sharp eye contact with the large Autobot._

_"It's a shame, really." Axer said sadly. "It would have been much more interesting to kill all of you in person. But, alas, I suppose I can manage with just the two of you…"_


End file.
